Smartphone apps a potential backdoor to hacking threats

You’ve got security installed on your home computer and your laptop. How about on your smart phone?

ProductReviews.net reports that a growing number of cyber criminals are targeting Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones through apps. Even reputable apps have Trojan copies — which criminals can use to take over a phone.

Most users don’t realize something is wrong until they get their monthly phone bill. Rik Ferguson of Trend Micro says these Trojan apps can send texts every minute at premium rates. But many users won’t know there’s a problem until its too late, because it all happens within the back-end infrastructure.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.